No, CarMax isn’t going to be checking if quarterback Tom Brady is throwing footballs that are fully inflated. Rather, CarMax finalized a partnership with the reigning Super Bowl champion New England Patriots on Tuesday to be the official used-car retailer of the team. As part of the multi-year sponsorship agreement, CarMax highlighted that the company will […] [Read More]

You can probably expect around an 800,000-unit increase in lease maturity volume next year, and those cars are likely to feed nicely into dealer lots as certified pre-owned units, says Joe Derkos of J.D. Power. But as far as how many CPO cars J.D. Power believes will be moving off of dealer lots next year … […] [Read More]

The July dealer survey conducted by KeyBanc Capital Markets showed that 88 percent of respondents enjoyed a used-vehicle sales increase year-over-year. Half of the stores that participated generated a used sales lift of less than 5 percent, while a quarter of the dealers told KeyBanc that they had a sales gain between 5 and 10 […] [Read More]

Are you seeing a lack of talented techs come through your doors? Many dealers are; the industry is buzzing about a shortage that may affect your bottom line for years to come. Mid-career mechanics are retiring, yet fewer schools are able to teach the advanced skills that today’s cars require, and there remains a stubborn […] [Read More]

For many customers, explains Rob Teitelbaum, buying a Mercedes-Benz can often be the celebration of a milestone event, like earning a medical degree, for example. There’s an excitement attached to that customer experience, and Teitelbaum – the new department manager for pre-owned operations at Mercedes-Benz USA – wants to make sure that same thrill exists […] [Read More]

As the month kicked off, FCA U.S. named a head of product planning, and Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) has chosen a director of design. Announced Tuesday, MNAO has picked Julien Montousse as director of design at its Irvine, Calif.-based design studio. In this new position, Montousse will oversee all of Mazda's North American design […] [Read More]

Chase Channell was the owner and operator of his own paint store in West Virginia when he happened to bump into a man at a downtown restaurant who was involved in automotive marketing. Channell, who opened the Elkins, W.Va., paint store at age 18, chatted with the man, who was in town for a tent […] [Read More]

In a move impacting nearly every segment of its dealer business, AutoNation made a major procedure change on Tuesday, announcing a policy not to sell, lease or wholesale any new or used vehicle that has an open safety recall.  The dealer group indicated this policy will apply to each one of AutoNation's 293 vehicle franchises across […] [Read More]

While roughly one third of new-vehicle shoppers say they’d consider purchasing a used vehicle for their next vehicle, an increasing number of consumers are gravitating toward the financial and peace-of-mind potential of certified pre-owned vehicles. That’s according to a CPO study from Autotrader in 2013, where 33 percent of new-vehicle shoppers said they would consider […] [Read More]

Sam’s Club announced today its new Auto Buying Program, powered by TrueCar, that it says provides guaranteed savings off of the MSRP on new cars and exclusive savings on used cars for its members. According to the company, Sam’s Club members have access to more than 10,000 TrueCar certified dealers nationwide. “Whether it’s your first […] [Read More]